{"type":"events","slug":"2014-chilean-navy-ufo-video","title":"Chilean Navy UFO Video","url":"https://disclosdex.com/events/2014-chilean-navy-ufo-video","description":"A naval helicopter crew captured thermal footage of an object emitting gas plumes and vanishing into clouds","date":"2014-11-11T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Sighting"],"updated":"2025-06-13T13:26:43.000Z","disclosureRating":6,"status":"resolved","lat":-33.4372,"lng":-70.6506,"connectionCount":1,"content":{"markdown":"On 11 November 2014 a Chilean Navy Airbus Cougar AS-532 helicopter conducting a coastal patrol west of Santiago captured an unclassified airborne object with its WESCAM MX-15 infrared camera. The captain and sensor operator watched the target with the naked eye, judged it to be at a similar altitude and speed, and recorded nine minutes of footage showing two intense thermal sources. [^1][^2][^3]\n\nRadar stations at Santiago and San Antonio registered no traffic and the object ignored standard radio calls. During the recording the target discharged two large, very hot plumes before vanishing into cloud, leaving investigators to debate its nature for years.[^5]\n\n## Personnel\n\n| Name                         | Role            | Affiliation                | Involvement                                          |\n| ---------------------------- | --------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |\n| _Captain (name withheld)_    | Pilot           | Chilean Navy               | Flew AS-532; visual witness; attempted radio contact |\n| _Technician (name withheld)_ | FLIR operator   | Chilean Navy               | Operated MX-15; recorded 9 min 12 s video            |\n| Gen. Ricardo Bermúdez        | Director        | CEFAA                      | Led official investigation 2014-2016                 |\n| Mario Avila                  | Nuclear chemist | CEFAA Scientific Committee | Interviewed crew; reviewed data                      |\n| Luis Barrera                 | Astrophysicist  | CEFAA consultant           | Photometric and thermal analysis                     |\n| François Louange             | Image analyst   | GEIPAN/CNES                | Proposed landing-aircraft explanation                |\n| Mick West                    | Researcher      | Metabunk                   | Identified Iberia flight IB6830 as plausible source  |\n\n## Timeline\n\n| Date / Time (local) | Event                                                |\n| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |\n| 2014-11-11 13:52    | Object detected; FLIR recording begins               |\n| 2014-11-11 14:01    | First thermal plume ejected                          |\n| 2014-11-11 14:02    | Second plume; object enters cloud; recording ends    |\n| 2014-11-11 evening  | Video delivered to CEFAA                             |\n| 2014-2016           | Eight committee meetings; multidisciplinary analyses |\n| 2017-01-05          | Footage released; HuffPost article by [Leslie Kean](/people/leslie-kean)    |\n| 2017-01-06          | Metabunk analysis links footage to Iberia IB6830     |\n\n## Evidence\n\n| Evidence type      | Description                                                        | Status / notes                                   |\n| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |\n| FLIR video         | 9-minute MX-15 infrared footage with dual hot spots and two plumes | Public; primary dataset                          |\n| Eyewitness reports | Statements from pilot and sensor operator                          | Corroborate speed, altitude, plume events        |\n| Radar logs         | Santiago DGAC and coastal Navy radars                              | No returns for object; helicopter tracked        |\n| Radio attempts     | Standard civilian airband calls                                    | No reply from target                             |\n| ADS-B flight data  | Iberia IB6830 Airbus A340 track                                    | Matches target azimuth, elevation and timing[^4] |\n| Expert analyses    | CEFAA, GEIPAN, Metabunk reviews                                    | Divergent conclusions                            |\n\n## Asessment\n\nThe Chilean Navy FLIR case has generated two main interpretations. The official CEFAA panel initially classified the object as an unidentified aerial phenomenon, citing the lack of radar contact, the apparent emission of thermal plumes, and the object's speed and heading, which seemed to match the helicopter's own. Investigators noted that the crew's visual and sensor observations did not correspond to any known flight plan or radar return, and the dramatic infrared plumes were considered anomalous.\n\nHowever, independent researchers—most notably Mick West of Metabunk and later Skeptoid—presented a compelling alternative explanation. By analyzing ADS-B flight data, they identified Iberia flight IB6830, an Airbus A340, as a likely match for the object's position, timing, and movement. The four-engine heat signature and the intermittent plumes were consistent with aerodynamic contrails produced by a distant airliner under the observed atmospheric conditions. This hypothesis requires accepting that the helicopter crew may have misjudged the object's distance and size, and that the radar search sector did not cover the airliner's actual location.\n\nThe weight of technical evidence now strongly favors the commercial aircraft explanation, with the airliner hypothesis providing a high-likelihood solution. Nonetheless, the case remains notable for the initial official uncertainty and the value of open-source flight data and collaborative analysis in resolving such incidents.\n\n[^1]: https://www.ipaco.fr/ReportChileanNavyCEFAA.pdf\n\n[^2]: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/groundbreaking-ufo-video-just-released-from-chilean_b_586d37bce4b014e7c72ee56b\n\n[^3]: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/chilean-government-releases-declassified-ufo-video\n\n[^4]: https://www.metabunk.org/threads/explained-chilean-navy-ufo-video-aerodynamic-contrails-flight-ib6830.8306/\n\n[^5]: https://skeptoid.com/episodes/838","readingTime":"4 min read"},"relatedRecords":[{"ref":{"type":"people","slug":"leslie-kean","title":"Leslie Kean","url":"https://disclosdex.com/people/leslie-kean"},"direction":"outbound","weight":1}],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/events/2014-chilean-navy-ufo-video","title":"Chilean Navy UFO Video","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/events/2014-chilean-navy-ufo-video","license":"CC-BY-4.0"},"witnesses":["A naval helicopter crew captured thermal footage of an object emitting gas plumes and vanishing into clouds"],"evidence":["video"]}